Sunday, December 28, 2014

US-Cuban Warming Foretells Cross-Strait Reconciliation

US-Cuban Warming Foretells Cross-Strait Reconciliation
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
December 29, 2014


Executive Summary: US policy towards Cuba has been frozen for half a century. The US has finally realized this was a blind alley. What it gained was far outweighed by what it lost -- the opportunity for reconciliation. By the same token, blind hostility and confrontation between the two sides of the Strait, will neither resolve differences nor facilitate communications. America and Cuba have put the past behind them. They can now work together to seek a mutually beneficial future. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should be able to do the same. They should be able to exercise wisdom, see the Big Picture, and create new opportunities for peace and prosperity.

Full Text Below:

Following his mid-term election defeat, many assumed that US President Barack Obama had become a lame duck. Who knew that Obama would unexpectedly display a diplomatic style all his own and announce the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba? With powerful determination, he shattered a 53 year old diplomatic impasse. He helped establish a new relationship between the US and Cuba. His vision and boldness is something both sides of the Taiwan Strait should learn from.

When Obama made the announcement on December 17, he shocked the international community. He did more than restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. He also reached other agreements, such as intelligence personnel prisoner exchanges. Obama declared that "After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach." The Commerce Department also issued a statement, saying that the US will engage in additional economic and commercial exchanges, in an effort to encourage Cuban reform.

Former US President Jimmy Carter tried to improve relations with Cuba. But his efforts fell through. Obama eased travel restrictions during his first term. His recent announcement shocked the world. But in fact, the two sides were in secret negotiations over the past 18 months. The outside world simply hadn't gotten wind of them. US and Cuban leaders both want the restoration of diplomatic relations. Canada and the Franciscans also contributed. During memorial services for former South African President Nelson Mandela late last year, Obama met with Cuban leader Raul Castro. The two men shook hands. This was seen as an ice-breaking gesture. But what people did not realize was that the two sides were already secretly negotiating restored relations.

The confrontation between the US and Cuba was the last stalemate of the Cold War. On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista, and became the leader of Cuba. The United States intitially intended to grant diplomatic recognition. But cooperation between Castro and the Soviet Union motivated the US break off diplomatic relations with Cuba. On January 3, 1961, the Central Intelligence Agency recruited 1400 Cuban exiles. On April 17, 1961 it staged an amphibious landing in the Bay of Pigs. The exiles were either captured or killed. The operation was a debacle. The United States then imposed a series of embargoes and trade sanctions against Cuba. By means overt and covert, it attempted to weaken and overthrow the Castro regime. In October 1962, Castro agreed to the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba. The "Cuban Missile Crisis" nearly led to nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union.

Cuba championed socialism and was friendly with the Soviet Union. For the United States, this was a thorn in its side. Tensions remained high throughout the Cold War. The US saw Cuba, located a mere 90 nautical miles off its border, as threat to national security. Its worries extended to other socialist Latin American countries. As a result, it resorted to every means at its disposal to blockade Cuba. For half a century, bilateral relations remained at rock bottom. The Cuban embargo left its people destitute. Economically it became utterly dependent upon the Soviet Union and Venezuela. Following the Soviet collapse, Cuba's economy lost its sponsor. Its socialist economy did not work. That much was obvious. Castro's health deteriorated. In 2006 he handed over power to his brother Raul. In 2008, Raul became President of the Council of Ministers and began to change course. He implemented a series of economic reforms and created an atmosphere of openness.

The United States established diplomatic relations with long hostile China and even Vietnam, with which it fought a war. Yet it continued to see Cuba as its sworn enemy. Clearly its policy warranted rethinking. Cuba paid a heavy price because of the embargo and blockade, in the economic livelihood of its people. But America, despite 53 years of effort, failed to score a victory. The victims of persistent US enmity, were the most vulnerable elements in the weaker countries. Had the United States broken the ice earlier, instead of clinging to its blockade, commercial exchanges could have benefited these people, and eased hostilities between the United States and Cuba.

Relations between friends are simple. Relations between enemies are equally simple. But to change an enemy into a friend requires strategy, intent, and finesse. Often politicians persist in hostility because they fear domestic pressure and challenges to their loyalty. It is easier to cling to one's existing position than to call for blood. It is much easier than championing peace and persuading one's opponents. Seeking peace requires greater courage than demanding war. But blindly adopting a hostile posture seldom narrows differences. It seldom facilitates long-term peace, and the nation eventually pays a price.

US policy towards Cuba has been frozen for half a century. The US has finally realized this was a blind alley. What it gained was far outweighed by what it lost -- the opportunity for reconciliation. By the same token, blind hostility and confrontation between the two sides of the Strait, will neither resolve differences nor facilitate communications. America and Cuba have put the past behind them. They can now work together to seek a mutually beneficial future. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should be able to do the same. They should be able to exercise wisdom, see the Big Picture, and create new opportunities for peace and prosperity.

社論-美古破冰啟示兩岸和解
2014年12月29日 04:10
本報訊

期中選舉大敗後,有些人認為美國總統歐巴馬已成為跛鴨,不料歐巴馬在外交上突出奇招,宣布將和古巴恢復外交關係,以強而有力的決斷力,為長達53年的一場外交僵局打開枷鎖,也為美古關係開展出全新的天地。這樣的視野和氣魄,值得兩岸借鏡。

歐巴馬在12月17日作出這項宣布,震撼國際社會;除了和古巴恢復外交關係外,雙方也達成交換被俘情報員等協議。歐巴馬明白表示「50年的孤立方法無效,該是採取新策略的時候了」,美國商務部也聲明說,美國將以更多的經濟與商業往來,展現對古巴各項改革的影響力。

前美國總統卡特曾經嘗試改善與古巴的關係,但後來努力告吹。歐巴馬在第1任期內,陸續放寬了旅遊等限制措施,而在這次震驚全球的美古破冰宣布前,雙方其實已經祕密談判了18個月之久,但外界一點風聲也不曾聽聞。除了美古兩國領導人都有積極意願外,其間加拿大與方濟各教宗也出力襄助。去年底在南非前總統曼德拉的追思會上,歐巴馬主動與古巴領導人勞爾.卡斯楚(Raul Castro)握手致意,被視為破冰之握,世人皆不知的是,當時雙方已經在私下進行恢復關係談判了。

美古對立可謂冷戰的最後一塊僵持。1959年1月1日,費德爾.卡斯楚(Fidel Castro)推翻巴蒂斯塔(Fulgencio Batista)政權成為古巴領導人時,美國原本給予外交承認,但之後因為卡斯楚和蘇聯合作,美國在1961年1月3日悍然與古巴斷交,中情局(CIA)還策動1400名古巴流亡人士,於1961年4月17日在豬灣發動登陸侵略行動,結果不是被俘就是遭殲滅,難堪失敗收場。接著美國對古巴採取一連串禁運及貿易制裁,以或明或暗各種手段企圖弱化並推翻卡斯楚政權。1962年10月卡斯楚同意蘇聯在古巴境內部署飛彈,更釀成差點引發美俄核戰的「古巴飛彈危機」。

奉行社會主義並且與蘇聯友好的古巴,對美國來說,有如自家後院一根頑固的芒刺。在美俄冷戰劍拔弩張的時代,美國既擔心距離僅90浬之外的古巴對國家安全造成威脅,復憂慮社會主義擴散到拉丁美洲其他國家,因此以各種手段封鎖嚴懲古巴。半個世紀以來,兩國關係始終在谷底跌宕。古巴受禁運之桎梏,民生凋敝落後,經濟上仰賴蘇聯及委內瑞拉甚深。蘇聯瓦解後,古巴經濟頓失依靠,而社會主義經濟行不通,則已是明顯的事實。卡斯楚因為健康惡化,2006年起陸續交權給弟弟勞爾,勞爾從2008年接任國務委員主席後,開始改弦易轍,推行一連串經濟改革政策,也為打開冰封營造了氣氛。

當美國早已與曾經敵對的中國建交、與兵戎相見的越南恢復關係時,唯獨仍視小小古巴如不共戴天之寇讎,在政策上確實值得重新商榷。古巴固然因為禁運與封鎖,在經濟民生上付出慘重代價,但以美國之大,窮53年之力,卻也沒有贏得什麼勝利;而政權的執著對立,受害最深的是弱勢國的人民。美國如果能更早尋求與古巴破冰,而不是堅持封鎖打壓,或許能藉由交流帶動商機嘉惠民眾,更早緩解美古之間的敵意。

在國與國之間,和朋友交往容易,和敵人對幹也很簡單,但若要化敵為友,對策略、意志和手腕可就是一大考驗了。很多時候,政治人物之所以堅持敵對姿態,是因為在面對內部壓力與質疑聲浪時,因循既有立場跟著喊殺喊打,比提出和平理想並說服反對者容易得多。求和比求戰更需要勇氣,但一味採取對立敵視,往往無助於拉近歧見,也難以為長遠和平開創契機,終究會讓國家的發展付出代價。

對古巴採取高壓封鎖政策半世紀後,美國終於認清此路不通,所得到的收穫遠遠無法彌補因此而坐失的和解機會。同樣的,兩岸之間一味的敵視對立,既無助於化解歧見,更阻礙了彼此的溝通理解。美古都能放下過去,攜手尋找一個對雙方都有利的共同未來,以兩岸之智慧,應該也能以大視野、大格局,為彼此共創和平發展的全新機遇。

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